Post by The Bullet on Feb 25, 2012 18:11:04 GMT
Hi All,
Well let’s have some fun, set the cat amongst the pigeons and discuss handicaps for barbilliards :) :) :) :).
This season the GBBA introduced a handicap for players, I’ve had a quick look at the stats and the way they are calculated and administered and believe they are fundamentally flawed.
From the little I know, the idea of a handicap is to make a level playing field for both players, the current system employed by the GBBA does not achieve this.
As I am not an expert in handicap systems I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for discussion on handicaps for barbilliards.
A quick note on the way the GBBA league works: games are played over one game lasting 15 to 17 minutes, player’s names are randomly picked to decide who plays who, the away player has the opening break, where games are played on neutral tables the captains toss a coin with the winner deciding if his team has the breaks in games 1, 3 and 5 or 2 and 4. The games are not equal breaks.
The GBBA has calculated this seasons handicap from the average score for a player from the preceding season.
Following a very quick look at the way the handicaps are calculated I believe this gives an unfair advantage to the away player/player with the opening break in single game matches; also there is no weighting for the difference in the highest score possible on each table. Some tables are high scoring and some are not and this should also be incorporated into calculations.
However the current system might have some credence in games of two legs i.e. both players have an equal chance on the break.
In my opinion the current system in single game format gives an unfair advantage to the away player/player with the opening break. Let’s imagine there are two players “A” and “B” who are both equal in ability and handicap from the previous season, they are both able to knock in breaks of 10,000+ and score 16,000 over a 16 minute game i.e. 1,000 per minute.
With the current system all player “A” has to do is knock in 8,500 in 8 ½ minutes to win the game to get 2.2 points for the league player stats and one point for a handicap win. As player “B” has no advantage in playing the rest of the game as any score will go towards his handicap next season likewise player “A” has no incentive to increase his score over the remaining game time, so for the following 7 minutes or so of the game they just tap around on the table, hardly the best way to raise the standard of play in Guernsey.
IMHO I believe that in single game matches the player with the opening break handicap should be increased to reflect the advantage that having the opening break can give him.
I believe that the handicap should be calculated on an individual player/game basis i.e. when the committee receives the score cards they should be looking at each individual pairing and calculate what each players handicap should be on the particular table taking into account the player’s season score to date. I know this will produce a fair bit of work but in single game matches this is probably the only way to produce a level playing field for both players
Well let’s have some fun, set the cat amongst the pigeons and discuss handicaps for barbilliards :) :) :) :).
This season the GBBA introduced a handicap for players, I’ve had a quick look at the stats and the way they are calculated and administered and believe they are fundamentally flawed.
From the little I know, the idea of a handicap is to make a level playing field for both players, the current system employed by the GBBA does not achieve this.
As I am not an expert in handicap systems I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for discussion on handicaps for barbilliards.
A quick note on the way the GBBA league works: games are played over one game lasting 15 to 17 minutes, player’s names are randomly picked to decide who plays who, the away player has the opening break, where games are played on neutral tables the captains toss a coin with the winner deciding if his team has the breaks in games 1, 3 and 5 or 2 and 4. The games are not equal breaks.
The GBBA has calculated this seasons handicap from the average score for a player from the preceding season.
Following a very quick look at the way the handicaps are calculated I believe this gives an unfair advantage to the away player/player with the opening break in single game matches; also there is no weighting for the difference in the highest score possible on each table. Some tables are high scoring and some are not and this should also be incorporated into calculations.
However the current system might have some credence in games of two legs i.e. both players have an equal chance on the break.
In my opinion the current system in single game format gives an unfair advantage to the away player/player with the opening break. Let’s imagine there are two players “A” and “B” who are both equal in ability and handicap from the previous season, they are both able to knock in breaks of 10,000+ and score 16,000 over a 16 minute game i.e. 1,000 per minute.
With the current system all player “A” has to do is knock in 8,500 in 8 ½ minutes to win the game to get 2.2 points for the league player stats and one point for a handicap win. As player “B” has no advantage in playing the rest of the game as any score will go towards his handicap next season likewise player “A” has no incentive to increase his score over the remaining game time, so for the following 7 minutes or so of the game they just tap around on the table, hardly the best way to raise the standard of play in Guernsey.
IMHO I believe that in single game matches the player with the opening break handicap should be increased to reflect the advantage that having the opening break can give him.
I believe that the handicap should be calculated on an individual player/game basis i.e. when the committee receives the score cards they should be looking at each individual pairing and calculate what each players handicap should be on the particular table taking into account the player’s season score to date. I know this will produce a fair bit of work but in single game matches this is probably the only way to produce a level playing field for both players